Photo of power lines
AUSTIN, Texas - The newest report from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas outlines potential issues with the state's power reserves as early as 2027.
The agency released its Capacity, Demand and Reserves Report on Thursday which estimates future reserve margins expected to be available during peak demand in the summer and winter seasons.
Timeline:
One scenario in the report shows the state's energy production falling beneath the demand by 8.3% during peak demand in the summer of 2027.
That same scenario shows a shortfall of 32.4% by summer 2029.
(Source: ERCOT)
The report uses a new load forecast that comes from transmission and distribution utilities and uses the reliability contributions of alternate energy sources like wind and solar.
The report states the new forecast power demands come from consumers like data centers, industrial production facilities and cryptocurrency mining.
What they're saying:
"For this CDR, we provided additional scenarios to illustrate the impacts of timing differences in load and supply growth. For example, if load were to not materialize as early as forecasted or if the full TEF generation portfolio is built within the report horizon," ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said. "These are probable scenarios that show moderated planning reserve impacts. However, the economic growth ahead does show that action is needed today to ensure long-term reliability and affordability."
"ERCOT looks forward to working on short- and long-term solutions with the Texas Legislature, PUCT, and stakeholders to continue to strengthen the reliability and resiliency of the Texas power grid," he continued.
What's next:
The report outlines possible solutions like broadening the Firm Fuel Supply Service Program and adding more projects through the Texas Energy Fund.
The agency is also looking to improve battery functions.
Dig deeper:
You can read ERCOT's report here:
Senate Bill 6
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Cryptocurrency and crypto mining are growing industries in the state of Texas, but some advocates are raising alarms about the effects of these industries on the state power grid, and on ratepayers.
The Texas legislature is already making plans for future developments that require a large amount of power against the grid.
Senate Bill 6 would require customers that have a large draw on the power grid to disclose to ERCOT its back-up generator capabilities and it may require a large load customer to utilize its generators during energy emergencies.
The bill would also set up a flat fee to study the impacts of the customer before it would be allowed to connect to the grid. The bill lists $100,000 as the flat fee, but notes that if the study doesn't use the entire fee, it would go towards other connection fees.
A large demand customer is defined by the bill as requiring 75 megawatts of power. Under normal conditions a single mega Watt can power 300 homes for a day.
The bill received a first read on Thursday and was referred to the business and commerce committee.
The reliability of the grid was mentioned as one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's priority bills.
The Source: Information in this article comes from ERCOT and the Texas legislature.